Franklin Lakes caterer competes on The Taste

It wasn't looking good for Franklin Lakes caterer Ninamarie Bojekian, who was hoping to get a slot on ABC's "The Taste."

One by one, the judges rejected her, turned off by her gutsy combination of Chilean sea bass with spicy corn, pickled apple, butterscotch sauce, cilantro and Bulgarian feta.

Then came Anthony Bourdain. "I hate butterscotch. I hate butterscotch with fish. I have no idea where you pulled these ingredients in these combinations from," he told her.

But …"in the end, I have to say, it strangely worked for me. I thought it was delicious!"

And Bojekian was in.

That scene played out on the show's first "auditions" episode a few weeks ago. Tonight, the nationally televised cooking competition starts in earnest. Bojekian will start by making toasted Israeli couscous in an effort to impress guest judge Gabrielle Hamilton (of Prune in Manhattan).

Though she was rejected by mentors Nigella Lawson, Ludo Lefebvre and Brian Malarkey, Bojekian was thrilled to land with the one who drew her to the show. "I originally wanted to get involved in this because I saw that Anthony Bourdain was involved in the project. I've always been such a huge fan of his."

The 28-year-old French Culinary Institute-trained chef is the owner of Ooh La La Catering, was named Chef Central's Ultimate Chef Bergen County last year and is newly engaged.

"I signed up for 'The Taste' because I'm always looking for a new way to stretch myself and do something unique and different," she said. "I work well under pressure … I wanted to put myself out there and see what I can do."

Bojekian can't say how far she got on the competition (which has already been taped) but "I always stuck with my gut through the show. I always did food that was me."

"I think I really learned that you have to be yourself when you're cooking in these situations … I didn't really consume myself with keeping an eye out for other contestants. I don't do that normally in life, either, which has always worked for me."

As the show progresses, Bojekian says, "Things start getting a lot more personal." And the level of cooking stays high. "I think people can expect to see really cool stuff coming out of a lot of talented people."